In praise of Mr Warren

[oliverfennell]

I think ol' Frank has really raised his game in recent months. Of course there are still valid criticisms, and I've been as big a critic as any in the past, but I'm also prepared to give credit where it's due.

The 02 bill in July was excellent; absolutely stacked.
Maccarinelli-Braithwaite was a decent main event and Rees-Mbaye was a masterstroke.
He delivered Calzaghe-Kessler.
He's putting on Haye-Maccarinelli.
And he finally got one of his heavyweights a world title shot.

On the downside -

The advertising for the 02 show was non-existent, meaning a great opportunity was lost.
Maccarinelli-Gunn was the worst "title fight" to ever take place in the UK.
The Calzaghe-Kessler undercard was dire.
The ticket prices for Haye-Maccarinelli are diabolical.

But the downsides are pretty much what we've come to expect. The upsides were not expected but they show what FW is capable of. More of the same, please!

I know some of you will say "why should we praise him for doing what he should have been doing all along", and that would be a fair point, but perhaps if we pat his head for good behaviour, he'll be more likely to continue in this vein.

[Autobarn]

I'd like to see Hennessey give him a bit of healthy competition. It's almost a shame to see Maloney and Haye fight on Warren's terms, as they are risking what could be a lucrative, exciting little heavyweight earner.

Anyway, Warren is doing way better than pre-Hatton v Tszyu that is for certain - his fighters were laughed at outside of the UK back then. Calzaghe-Lacy, Calzaghe-Kessler, Haye-Maccarinelli are all fights that count for A LOT on the world scene. We're not really seeing other Brit promoters or other Euro promoters (Kohl, Sauerland) put on anything remotely close to that level of fight. (Though Kohl and Sauerland came together nicely for Chagaev-Valuev not too long ago).

I don't like that he can put the major fights on, for his biggest names, but all the fights in between are minor bouts of little worth. Also, I don't like Arthur and Lockett's pretensions to winning world titles because they are just waiting for better fighters than themselves to vacate their world belts.

Frank has put some very exciting fights on of recent: Arthur-Foster Jr, Earl-Katsidis, Macca-Hobson 1, Woods-Johnson 3 for instance. But he never seems apologetic for putting on dreck.

[overhand_right]

Cant praise the guy. Whats so good about digging up Braithewaite after a 3 yr layoff and a kayo defeat to Guillermo Jones?

The whole WBO and WBU thing is feckin terrible for the sports image with the general public. Alex Arthur: undisputed interim WBO champ and Joe Calzaghe= defences equal to Joe Louis? Erm, not quite.

And the route Amir Khan is looking extremely dodgy and very, very familiar.

Come back Terry Marsh & finish what you started.

[Chambers2]

His matchmaking has definately got better since the Gunn and Manfredo debacle, but there is still of room for improvement. Setanta (at the moment anyway) seem like decent paymasters, so hopefully he can continue the trend with their backing.

[oliverfennell]

Yeah, he'll be made up to be discussed as if he were a dog, or a slave boy .

Yes, I actually was thinking of the dog analogy. They say dogs learn more from being praised for doing things right than punished for doing things wrong.

[Chambers2]

Come back Terry Marsh & finish what you started.

fornicate'N'ell Overhand thats abit harsh (it is now hes started putting some decent bouts on anyway)

[whicker]

Setanta (at the moment anyway) seem like decent paymasters, so hopefully he can continue the trend with their backing.

Yeah- Setanta are one of the "good things" thats happened to boxing recently- if allegedly works with them then that will be good for the sport.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Cant praise the guy. Whats so good about digging up Braithewaite after a 3 yr layoff and a kayo defeat to Guillermo Jones?

The whole WBO and WBU thing is feckin terrible for the sports image with the general public. Alex Arthur: undisputed interim WBO champ and Joe Calzaghe= defences equal to Joe Louis? Erm, not quite.

And the route Amir Khan is looking extremely dodgy and very, very familiar.

Come back Terry Marsh & finish what you started.

Someone delete this post, that's an inflammatory comment if ever I saw one.

Do you really want Marsh and Warren's lawyers on this?

[overhand_right]

Do i not have freedom of speech to respectfully request Mr Marsh come out of retirement and give us closure on his boxing career?

Dont have a scoobies what you guys are referring to.

[WildWaylon]

Cant praise the guy. Whats so good about digging up Braithewaite after a 3 yr layoff and a kayo defeat to Guillermo Jones?

The whole WBO and WBU thing is feckin terrible for the sports image with the general public. Alex Arthur: undisputed interim WBO champ and Joe Calzaghe= defences equal to Joe Louis? Erm, not quite.

And the route Amir Khan is looking extremely dodgy and very, very familiar.

Come back Terry Marsh & finish what you started.

I have no problem with your opinion of FW, thats just opinion, but the Terry Marsh comment.........

[WildWaylon]

Do i not have freedom of speech to respectfully request Mr Marsh come out of retirement and give us closure on his boxing career?

Dont have a scoobies what you guys are referring to.

Lawyers talk about veiled threats - This is a veiled comment - OK it can be read another way but we all know the intension of the remark.

[rooney]

been a bit dissapointed with some of the shows that Franks put on in the past, but he sorted out problems that the Lawyers couldn't with regard the the case of the BBBOC and Michael Watson - he gets my respect for that..

[harrygreb]

terry marsh had nothing to do with that incident. he was attempting to roller skate across the atlantic ocean at the time, m'lud.

[Poncey]

The ticket prices for Haye-Maccarinelli are diabolical.

Ringside prices are diabolical, but all the other prices are only a bit more than the Khan v Limond card. My ticket is only 25 more for this fight.

The ringside prices are disgusting, but there isn't as many ringside seats at the O2, due to its size, so Promoters have to charge more.

[Autobarn]

been a bit dissapointed with some of the shows that Franks put on in the past, but he sorted out problems that the Lawyers couldn't with regard the the case of the BBBOC and Michael Watson - he gets my respect for that..

Definite props to Warren for that. has Watson seen any of the money yet? these kind of things take a lot of time. in his book watson said he'd not seen a penny of it, i think.

[oliverfennell]

The ticket prices for Haye-Maccarinelli are diabolical.

Ringside prices are diabolical, but all the other prices are only a bit more than the Khan v Limond card. My ticket is only 25 more for this fight.

The ringside prices are disgusting, but there isn't as many ringside seats at the O2, due to its size, so Promoters have to charge more.

SIXTY quid for a "cheap" seat is too much. 50 was pushing it for Calzaghe-Kessler, but we let that slide because it was one of the biggest British fights of all time. This fight IS big, is sure to be a thriller, but it's not a Calzaghe-Kessler to the general public.

I'm also worried because "cheap" seats on SN shows have crept up in increments of £10 and have become the set level for all shows, whether 02 or York Hall. I just hope 50/60 quid isn't the norm after this. £40 is tolerable. Even then, I know lads who aren't big fans but want to see live boxing "for the experience" but think again when I tell them it's 40 quid.

As for the Haye tickets being "only a bit more" than the 02 bill. I'd say 50% more is significantly greater than "a bit". Of course the main event is a cracker, but at the 02 we had Khan/Limond/Cook/Luevano/Skelton/Sprott/Pryce/Small and more. That was a stacked card and I'd much rather pay £40 for four solid B-level title fights than £60 for one A-level fight in Haye-Maccarinelli, as good as that match is.

[overhand_right]

Lawyers talk about veiled threats - This is a veiled comment - OK it can be read another way but we all know the intension of the remark.

If you can name me one other allegedly fighter who won a legit version of the world title then retired abruptly whilst still reigning then i'll happily retract the remark & accept i'm wrong.

Everyone knows Marsh faked his illness to escape his contract with Warren. And as for the other incident-- well Marsh was acquitted of that by a jury of his peers.

[Autobarn]

Calzaghe and Hatton won legit versions of titles. That's about it this decade. Enzo Mac has a chance in March, even better chance if Haye is weak at the weight. So whle Warren makes some major fights, he only makes 'em when the circumstances are just right for his fighter. If it takes 2 years into their title reign, or ten/eleven years.

[The Blade]

Calzaghe and Hatton won legit versions of titles. That's about it this decade. Enzo Mac has a chance in March, even better chance if Haye is weak at the weight. So whle Warren makes some major fights, he only makes 'em when the circumstances are just right for his fighter. If it takes 2 years into their title reign, or ten/eleven years.

and your point is .... that he should throw people in ahead of their time and get them beaten. Hatton would have lost to Tszyu, more than likely, if he had fought him two years earlier.